I’m not usually a fan of prescribed “diets”I live by more of the anti-diet mantra. Call me jaded, but the word “diet”has a bit of a negative connotation these days, with “fad” and “restrictive” usually preceding it. So, when I had the chance to giveDr. Axe’s new Keto360 program a two-week test run,I did some serious digging on the ketogenic diet and whether it’s healthy.

Here’s what I learned about the keto diet: You essentially swap a high-carb diet, which most Americans tend to eat, for a diet that’s very high in fat (the healthy kinds), moderate in protein, and very low in carbohydrates. The idea is that you change the source from which your body gets its energy (and burns calories) from glucose (from carbohydrates) to ketones (from fat). This shift doesn’t happen after one bulletproof coffee, though. It usually takes a few days of eating this way for your body to reach ketosiswhere it’s looking to fat as its first source of fuel. Once there, though, your body “will be burning fat all the time,” says Dr. Axe. “It doesn’t matter if you’re working out or sleeping, or what you’re doing, your body continues to burn fat in ketosis.”

Armed with the 411 on how the keto diet works, I felt encouraged and relieved. The concept is rooted in nutrition- and weight-loss science. And from my initial conversations with Dr. Axe, I liked knowing that ketogenic diet results are always meant to be time-boundeating this way is not a lifestyle and that makes sense. You may have heard that the keto diet was ranked last in the U.S.News &World Report’s 2018 list of the best and the worst diets. While I embarked on this journey before that news came out, I would havegiven the keto diet a try regardless. Part of the criteria for that ranked list was whether a diet was sustainable and easy to followthe keto diet is neither, but it’s not designed to be. “I don’t recommend people follow strict ketogenic diets for their life,” says Dr. Axe. “I recommend 30- to 90-day periods, and after that moving into more of a ‘cycling’ phase, where you can cycle in and out of keto.” Dr. Axe admits that following a keto diet will be difficult for most people, since many Americans have diets high in sugar, salt, and carbs. Buthe says that the potential benefitsboosting brain health, supporting muscles and overall improved performance at the gym, at the office, and in lifeare worth putting in the hard work. (Just Look at the Keto Diet Results Jen Widerstrom Saw After 17 Days.)

All of that said, I was ready to put the keto diet to the testand in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, no less. I relished the idea of proving that eating fat doesn’t make you fata diet myth that I’d like to see die a faster death.

All new habits need a plan. Luckily, I had the Keto360 Blueprint (which mapped out how this was all going to go down), Dr. Axe at my disposal for ALL the questions, a Keto360-approved food list, and a husband who agreed to jump on the two-week keto bandwagon with me. (Research shows that having a buddy system will increase your rate of success in fitness, a diet, and even sticking to your New Year’s resolutions.) Still, sitting down to figure outmy first week of keto diet mealsand snacks was daunting. (Side note: Iknew that if I was going to succeed at this, I’d have to be able to buy lunch. Luckily, Dr. Axe is totally on board, saying that most caf salad bars will have what I need to create a keto meala big spinach salad with salmon and avocado, for example.)

Keto mealsseemed so heavy and rich to me, and it just wasn’t how I was used to eating. Plus, I consider myself a flexitarian, so the thought of eating more meatand more often than I typically wouldgave me pause. Dr. Axe assured me that even vegetarianscould pull off a keto diet if they planned well enough. (Vegans can, too.)That said, he’s a proponent of animal products and red meat specifically, because of the iron it provides for women (who are more susceptible to deficiency) and because it can bolster energy when carbs are lacking. (TheseAre the Other Things Vegetarians Need to Be Aware of Before Going Keto.)

Still, I enjoy cooking and I plan my meals on the regular anyway. With a keto food list in hand and advice from Dr. Axe in my mind, I filled my grocery cart with family-size versions of what I regularly buy (apples, berries, nut butter, kale), and a lot more meat than I ever have in my cart at one time (ground lamb, chicken, REAL bacon). What was missing? Some of my usual high-carb items, like whole-grain English muffins, orange juice, butternut squash, and tortilla chips.

While I was feeling pretty confident about my ability to cut back on obvious carbs, I felt less sure about doubling up on my fat. This is one aspect of the ketogenic diet that I think a lot of people misunderstand. Keto is not just a low-carb diet, it’s a HIGH-fat diet, too.

I can tackle coconut oil and avocado just fine. But there was one thing about the next two weeks that was looming over me: the intermittent fasting (IF) Dr. Axe built into his program. (Not all keto diets include this.) On Keto360 you can choose from three different eating windows, and I went for the longest: noon to 8 p.m., which meant I wouldn’t be eating solid food until midday. I have an active fitness schedule, which needs fuel (and recovery) on a regular basis, so I was concerned I’d really miss my morning yogurt with berries and be left feeling hangry by 10a.m. (Not to mention, some food pros feel the potential benefits of intermittent fasting might not be worth the risks.) Dr. Axe assured me that not only could I handle the IF, but that temporarily starving the body this way will allow it to heal. “When you’re fasting for a period of time, you’re essentially letting the systems of your body completely rest and recover.” And he’s right. This is exactly why sleep is the most important thing for weight loss and health, why there are such things as beauty night creams, and why rest days are crucial to meeting any fitness goal. The breaking down of food, the rapid turnover of cells, and the repairing of muscle tears all happen during rest.

Plus, it’s not like I couldn’t feed my body anything until noon. Low-carb keto drinks such as tea, water, and coffee were all options, and Dr. Axe suggested adding protein (such as his bone broth or collagen protein powders) to my liquids to help fend off hunger. So, throughout my twoweeks, I experimented with Dr. Axe’s bone broth protein and collagen protein, as well as unsweetened nondairy milks such as almond and oat milk. I’ll cut to the chase on this one: While expert opinion is mixed on the bioavailability of collagen powder and its potential health benefits, through trial and error, I landed on coffee with oat milk and collagen peptides as my go-to morning brew. I also took some of Dr. Axe’s Keto Fire supplements in the morning. They contain exogenous ketones, which is a fancy way of saying bonus ketones my body doesn’t produce on its own.

With meals planned, research done, and supplements on hand, I was ready and excited for the challenge. Here’s a snippet of my two-week experienceand the keto diet results that came with it:

Day 1: It’s 8:15a.m. and my stomach is growling. It knows it’s time for its breakfast, and I’m depriving it. I blended my protein coffee and ran out the door. My first thought is that the vanilla flavor is a nice complement to black coffee. But toward the end of the thermos, I realize that no matter how you dice it, vanilla bone broth protein coffee is not the same as a vanilla blonde roast with skim milk.

Day 2: There’s a bagel shop less than a block from my office. I pass it every single day and never really think anything of it. Well, not today! The smell of the freshly baked everything bagelsand was that veggie cream cheeseI smelled?was wafting out the door as I walked by extra quickly. (Though I found out later that thereisa way to have bread and still stay in ketosis.)

Day 3: I’m tired AF. Like the kind of tired when you’re so exhausted you have to use your left arm to lift your right arm. Somehow, I pried myself out of bed to work out only to realize cardio has never been more hardio, so some chill strength training was going to have to do. (I Now Know These 8 Things About Exercising While On the Keto Diet.) Nonetheless, feelings of lethargy were to be expected, says Dr. Axe, who says days 2 and 3 were also the hardest for him the first time he tried keto. “Every body is different,” he assures me. “Some people feel better by day 5, others take twoweeks.”

Day 4: Grabbing lunch out has been successful thus far. Today was some tilapia, zucchini, and yellow squash, and a kale and tofu side salad. I tossed onhalf an avocado for good fatty measure. Oh, and I notice that I’ve lost a pound already, which is definitely just water weightcarbs hold water so limiting them is a surefire way to release some fluid in your bodybut nonetheless. Weight loss wasn’t my objective, but I doubt I’malone in thinking, “I’ll take it!”

Day 5: As fate would have it, 3 p.m. rolls around and we get a message that there are cookies in the conference room. I have been snacking on keto-approved foods like Granny Smith apples (the tart green apple has way less sugar than, say, a red Gala), and full-fat cottage cheese with blueberries (where have you been all my life, snack?) with no real trouble with cravings. But just knowing there are cookies that I can’t eat makes me feel a little cheated. (Though These Low-Carb Keto Desserts Help With That.)

Day 6: When I thought back to what I ate today, I realized that between my salad and my lamb burger, I ate an entire avocado. The Keto360 plan recommends no more than half an avocado a day, and most nutritionists would probably agree. While the creamy, green fruit is filled with a lot of healthy fats, which I need in excess to stay in ketosis, at 300 calories a pop, that can quickly add up. (One gram of fat equals 9 calories, opposed to 4 calories per gram for both protein and carbs.)

Photo: Instagram / @alyssa_sparacino

It’s true that calories are not the only thing that matters in your diet, but if you’re trying to lose weight (which is a major reason many people try the keto diet), being mindful of combining all those high-fat foods is important for success.

Day 7: Peak exhaustion set in back on days 3 and 4, but I rounded the corner and started to feel more like myself the last couple days. Now at the halfway mark, I feel likeI’ve gotten this keto meal-planning thing downeven if the food isn’t everything I hoped and dreamed. (More on that below). PlusI’m able to effectively train the way I’m used to. Over the weekend I hit the barre, the bike, and the (kettle)bells, and it feels great. I have my energy back and then some. And I simultaneously feel lighter (down another pound) and stronger.

Day 8: I’m still struggling to find a morning beverage that I enjoy and that keeps me full, so I try flavorless collagen protein powder with my coffee plus a splash of macadamia nut milk. It still isn’t the same as a French press with cream, but it’s a win! On the solid-food front, I’m starting to get a little grossed out about all the meat I’ve eaten in the past week. It’s more than I’d normally eat in three times as long. Lamb burgers, turkey lettuce-wrap tacos, chicken salads. My digestion is off (even though I take probiotics every morning), so Dr. Axe recommends his Keto Digest supplements at lunch. They contain fat-digesting enzymes to help break down the extra fat and protein that my body isn’t used to consuming, and it helps.

Day 9: I caved. I was running out the door for a morning workout and I had a hefty spoonful of peanut butter this morning, but I was hangry, okay?! While I silently wonder if that’s enough to send me out of ketosis, there’s really no guilt (food should never make you feel guilty, IMO). I need fuel for my workoutperiod.

Day 10: I’m starting to get sick of the same foods that I know are safe bets. And the number of times I’ve Googled: “Is _____ keto?”is getting out of hand. I’ve realized that the only real gripe I have with the keto diet is that there are so many healthy, nutritious foods that you can’t eat while on it. (Maybe that’s why experts say you should give up restrictive diets once and for all.) Carrots? Sweet potatoes? Brussels sprouts? What vitamins and nutrients am I missing out on by leaving these foods off my plate?

Day 11: The women at the salad shop accidentally put bread in my bag even though I said no bread. I threw it out on my way out the door. Today is a sad day. In other news, my energy is still kicking, I’ve been keeping up with my workouts, and I lost another pound. (I kind of hate weighing myself this often.)

Day 12: Dr. Axe assured me from the beginning that I’d be able to stick to my usual kind of workouts, and I’m happy to report that I can keep up with my favorite boxing and cycling classes without feeling dead halfway through.

Day 13: I have a love-hate relationship with this intermittent fasting thing. I think it’s “working,” and by that I mean I’m losing some weight. (Plus, improved body composition and definition can come with weight loss.) When I ask Dr. Axe if I should attribute my success to keto or IF, he says both. “I would say 80/20 it’s more strongly in the favor of keto, but intermittent fasting does help as well,” he says. The fat-burning capabilities of keto have more strength behind it when it comes to weight loss, specifically, he adds, but the intermittent fasting can be great for digestion and just feeling good.

Day 14: Today’s the last day on the Keto360 plan, so naturally I wear my Body by Butter tank to my morning workout. The class incorporated heavy lifting circuit training and cardio bursts, and I felt like I could go for round two when it was over.

In the end, I’m pleased with my keto diet results both internally and externally. I lost 4 pounds in twoweeks, gained some energy and efficiency with my training, and more often than not felt that I could see better muscle tone instead of feeling bloated or weighed down. While the ketogenic diet may not be my go-toon a regular basis, Dr. Axe’s final feedback was encouraging: He says because I’ve now had a successful keto trial run, if I wanted to cycle through some keto weeks (or even a month, next time), I’d be able to easily, potentially reaching ketosis even more quickly. While going full-force back on the carbs could derail me or anyone else who wants to keto-cycle, Dr. Axe says the odds are in my favor. Ninety percent of the time if someone’s done it once, they will get into ketosis quicker and easier the next time, he says.

In fact, he says my already somewhat balanced diet is part of why I didn’t experience the keto flu. (Some people report feeling sick to their stomach, irritable, and dizzy, among other flu-like symptoms, for the first few days or even weeks of keto.) People who transition from a very high-carb and high-protein dietto a high-fat dietare more susceptible to these rare but extreme symptoms, he says. This is why he says he builta Feast Phasewhen you’re adding fats into your diet without really restricting your carbsinto his Keto360 plan as a way to ease your body into ketosis. “If someone is a fairly good eater, and they already do have a moderate amount of fat in their dietnot high fat but moderatetypically they’ll transition pretty well,”he says.

Many people may look at myside-by-side before and after picsand think, “She was fit before and she looks the same now.” (Isn’t it strange how differently other people see you versus how you see yourself?) But eating and exercise should always be about more than the aesthetics. How do your diet and fitness habits make you feel? Food is fuel (and recovery) for the activities you like to do most. If eating well means you gain some perspective, then ending up with abetter butt isjust icing on the cake. BTW, I can have cake now.

Sometimes, thats all you need to start transforming your mindset, your body, and your life. Inspiration, motivation, and practical tips you can turn into action right away.

Ready to take the first step? Start your weight loss journey join our community and sign up for our next 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge.

Youre in the right place. Here are 5 of our favourite tips for planning healthy meals when youre a busy mum on a budget.

Your body, lifestyle, and situation are unique to you. So, adapt your diet to match! This is especially important for mums who are pregnant or if youre breastfeeding your baby. After all, you need to sustain two people with your diet! So, make sure you get a customisable meal plan suitable for pregnant women or a program that can adapt to your needs as a breastfeeding mum.

Ever come home from work, a shopping trip, or a day out with the kids and just grabbed takeaway because you had no time or energy to cook? Yep, weve all been there. Its not the best option for our health OR our bank accounts. Thats why the best way to stay on track with your weight loss meal plan is to plan ahead and meal prep so youve always got something in the fridge or freezer thats ready to go.

Its always easier to achieve a goal (like sticking to your healthy meal plan!) when youve got someone doing it with you. Surround yourself with a tribe of other mums who want to make positive, healthy changes in their lives too. Youll always have a safe place to share your wins (and struggles) and get a boost when you need it. Plus, youll be able to see whats possible for you and your family because others have done it too.

Do you ever get bored with cooking the same old meals? Its easy to get stuck in a rut with recipes and ingredients same old, same old. Sometimes, finding new recipes can inspire you to make healthier choices and cook meals that are good for you and that your whole family is happy to eat. Check out our weight loss recipes to find some new go-to meals and healthy ingredient options.

These days, there are plenty of tools you can use to make it easier than ever to follow a weight loss meal plan. The Healthy Mummy app, for example, helps you manage your recipes, meal plan, and shopping lists on-the-go (so you never end up at the shops without a list again). Embrace the tech to make planning meals quick and easy.

Only one over-the-counter diet pill is approved for weight loss: a reduced-dose formulation of orlistat known as Alli. It works by preventing absorption of about a third of ingested fat. While side effects from Alli are slightly lower than with its prescription cousin (because of the lower dose): they remain unpleasant: oily stools and discharge and potential bowel accidents if too much fat is eaten at one sitting. Alli’s manufacturer recommends keeping total fat consumption to about 30% of calories a day and spreading it out over three meals. The net weight loss effect with Alli: about 50% greater than diet and exercise alone.

What do I need to know about OTC diet supplements?

Many other over the counter diet supplements are promoted as helping with weight loss, but few have actually been proven to work. Worse, some of the ingredients used in OTC diet supplements may be dangerous. The Food and Drug Administration classifies herbal products as dietary supplements. This means that they are unregulated and can be marketed without the years of testing and regulatory review required for prescription (and nonprescription) drugs. Remember that supplements can have side effects, and you should check with your doctor first before taking any type of supplement, including OTC diet pills.

Here are some common ingredients seen in OTC diet supplements:

Green tea extract: cases of liver problems in people using concentrated green tea extracts have been reported.

Hydroxycitric acid: Derived from the fruit of a tree native to Southeast Asia. It generally appears to be safe, although one maker recalled its products after they were associated with liver damage. Other health problems reported included seizures, cardiovascular disorders, and serious muscle damage. These products contained many other ingredients, and it is unclear which ingredients or doses were associated with the liver problems.

Chromium: A mineral that people can get through diet, particularly meats, whole-grains, and some vegetables and fruits. It has been linked to side effects such as headaches and dizziness as well as more serious health problems at high doses.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA): Found naturally in meat and dairy products, it may cause stomach upset.

Hoodia: Derived from an African plant native to the Kalahari Desert. Hoodia products typically contain other additional ingredients. Its safety is not yet known.

Chitosan: Made from the starch found in shellfish.

Pyruvate: Produced by the body as a result of the breakdown of carbohydrate and protein from food and found naturally in foods such as cheese, wine, and red apples.

St. John’s wort: Used mainly as an antidepressant, this herb can interact with numerous other drugs.

Aloe: Sometimes marketed as an “internal” cleanser, aloe causes a strong cathartic effect in the intestines. That can lead to mineral depletion or worse if users have pre-existing intestinal issues, such as ulcerative colitis.

Cascara: An effective laxative but ineffective weight loss agent, cascara interacts with other drugs and can throw off the body’s mineral balance.

Glucomannan: Derived from a plant root, glucomannan has been banned in several countries because when exposed to liquid it swells and can result in a gastrointestinal obstruction.

Guarana: A natural stimulant, guarana can increase blood pressure.

Yerba mate: Often used in a tea, yerba mate ingestion can result in high blood pressure and overstimulation of the central nervous system. It may also be linked to esophageal cancer.

Guar gum: It is used in the food and pharmaceutical industries as a thickening agent, but taken alone, guar gum can swell on contact with liquid, potentially leading to an obstruction.

Ephedra (ma huang): Consumers should not be able to find OTC supplements containing this ingredient, because the FDA banned its sale in dietary supplements in 2004. Use of ephedra can cause high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems.

Pick up any diet book and it will claim to hold all the answers to successfully losing all the weight you wantand keeping it off. Some claim the key is to eat less and exercise more, others that low fat is the only way to go, while others prescribe cutting out carbs. So, what should you believe?

The truth is there is no one size fits all solution to permanent healthy weight loss. What works for one person may not work for you, since our bodies respond differently to different foods, depending on genetics and other health factors. To find the method of weight loss thats right for you will likely take time and require patience, commitment, and some experimentation with different foods and diets.

While some people respond well to counting calories or similar restrictive methods, others respond better to having more freedom in planning their weight-loss programs. Being free to simply avoid fried foods or cut back on refined carbs can set them up for success. So, dont get too discouraged if a diet that worked for somebody else doesnt work for you. And dont beat yourself up if a diet proves too restrictive for you to stick with. Ultimately, a diet is only right for you if its one you can stick with over time.

Some experts believe that successfully managing your weight comes down to a simple equation:If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight. Sounds easy, right? Then why is losing weight so hard?

A different way of viewing weight loss identifies the problem as not one of consuming too many calories, but rather the way the body accumulates fat after consuming carbohydratesin particular the role of the hormone insulin. When you eat a meal, carbohydrates from the food enter your bloodstream as glucose. In order to keep your blood sugar levels in check, your body always burns off this glucose before it burns off fat from a meal.

If you eat a carbohydrate-rich meal (lots of pasta, rice, bread, or French fries, for example), your body releases insulin to help with the influx of all this glucose into your blood. As well as regulating blood sugar levels, insulin does two things: It prevents your fat cells from releasing fat for the body to burn as fuel (because its priority is to burn off the glucose) and it creates more fat cells for storing everything that your body cant burn off.The result is that you gain weight and your body now requires more fuel to burn, so you eat more. Since insulin only burns carbohydrates, you crave carbs and so begins a vicious cycle of consuming carbs and gaining weight. To lose weight, the reasoning goes, you need to break this cycle by reducing carbs.

Most low-carb diets advocate replacing carbs with protein and fat, which could have some negative long-term effects on your health. If you do try a low-carb diet, you can reduce your risks and limit your intake of saturated and trans fats by choosing lean meats, fish and vegetarian sources of protein, low-fat dairy products, and eating plenty of leafy green and non-starchy vegetables.

It’s a mainstay of many diets: if you dont want to get fat, dont eat fat. Walk down any grocery store aisle and youll be bombarded with reduced-fat snacks, dairy, and packaged meals. But while our low-fat options have exploded, so have obesity rates. So, why havent low-fat diets worked for more of us?

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes eating good fats and good carbs along with large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, fish, and olive oiland only modest amounts of meat and cheese. The Mediterranean diet is more than just about food, though. Regular physical activity and sharing meals with others are also major components.

Whatever weight loss strategy you try, its important to stay motivated and avoid common dieting pitfalls.

We dont always eat simply to satisfy hunger. All too often, we turn to food when were stressed or anxious, which can wreck any diet and pack on the pounds. Do you eat when youre worried, bored, or lonely? Do you snack in front of the TV at the end of a stressful day? Recognizing your emotional eating triggers can make all the difference in your weight-loss efforts. If you eat when youre:

Find a cheering section.Social support means a lot. Programs like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers use group support to impact weight loss and lifelong healthy eating. Seek out supportwhether in the form of family, friends, or a support groupto get the encouragement you need.

Slow and steady wins the race. Losing weight too fast can take a toll on your mind and body, making you feel sluggish, drained, and sick. Aim to lose one to two pounds a week so youre losing fat rather than water and muscle.

Set goals to keep you motivated.Short-term goals, like wanting to fit into a bikini for the summer, usually dont work as well as wanting to feel more confident or become healthier for your childrens sakes. When temptation strikes, focus on the benefits youll reap from being healthier.

Use tools to track your progress.Smartphone apps, fitness trackers, or simply keeping a journal can help you keep track of the food you eat, the calories you burn, and the weight you lose. Seeing the results in black and white can help you stay motivated.

Get plenty of sleep. Lack of sleep stimulates your appetite so you want more food than normal; at the same time, it stops you feeling satisfied, making you want to keep eating. Sleep deprivation can also affect your motivation, so aim for eight hours of quality sleep a night.

Whether or not youre specifically aiming to cut carbs, most of us consume unhealthy amounts of sugar and refined carbohydrates such as white bread, pizza dough, pasta, pastries, white flour, white rice, and sweetened breakfast cereals. Replacing refined carbs with their whole-grain counterparts and eliminating candy and desserts is only part of the solution, though. Sugar is hidden in foods as diverse as canned soups and vegetables, pasta sauce, margarine, and many reduced fat foods. Since your body gets all it needs from sugar naturally occurring in food, all this added sugar amounts to nothing but a lot of empty calories and unhealthy spikes in your blood glucose.

Calories obtained from fructose (found in sugary beverages such as soda and processed foods like doughnuts, muffins, and candy) are more likely to add to fat around your belly. Cutting back on sugary foods can mean a slimmer waistline as well as a lower risk of diabetes.

Even if youre cutting calories, that doesnt necessarily mean you have to eat less food. High-fiber foods such as fruit, vegetables, beans, and whole grains are higher in volume and take longer to digest, making them fillingand great for weight-loss.

Its generally okay to eat as much fresh fruit and non-starchy vegetables as you wantyoull feel full before youve overdone it on the calories.

Eat vegetables raw or steamed, not fried or breaded, and dress them with herbs and spices or a little olive oil for flavor.

Add fruit to low sugar cerealblueberries, strawberries, sliced bananas. Youll still enjoy lots of sweetness, but with fewer calories, less sugar, and more fiber.

Snack on carrots or celery with hummus instead of a high-calorie chips and dip.

Add more veggies to your favorite main courses to make your dish more substantial. Even pasta and stir-fries can be diet-friendly if you use less noodles and more vegetables.

Start your meal with salad or vegetable soup to help fill you up so you eat less of your entre.

Set yourself up for weight-loss success by taking charge of your food environment: when you eat, how much you eat, and what foods you make easily available.

Cook your own meals at home. This allows you to control both portion size and what goes in to the food. Restaurant and packaged foods generally contain a lot more sugar, unhealthy fat, and calories than food cooked at homeplus the portion sizes tend to be larger.

Serve yourself smaller portions. Use small plates, bowls, and cups to make your portions appear larger. Dont eat out of large bowls or directly from food containers, which makes it difficult to assess how much youve eaten.

Eat early. Studies suggest that consuming more of your daily calories at breakfast and fewer at dinner can help you drop more pounds. Eating a larger, healthy breakfast can jump start your metabolism, stop you feeling hungry during the day, and give you more time to burn off the calories.

Fast for 14 hours a day. Try to eat dinner earlier in the day and then fast until breakfast the next morning. Eating only when youre most active and giving your digestion a long break may aid weight loss.

Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time. You can create your own small portion snacks in plastic bags or containers. Eating on a schedule will help you avoid eating when you arent truly hungry.

Drink more water. Thirst can often be confused with hunger, so by drinking water you can avoid extra calories.

Limit the amount of tempting foods you have at home. If you share a kitchen with non-dieters, store indulgent foods out of sight.

The degree to which exercise aids weight loss is open to debate, but the benefits go way beyond burning calories. Exercise can increase your metabolism and improve your outlookand its something you can benefit from right now. Go for a walk, stretch, move around and youll have more energy and motivation to tackle the other steps in your weight-loss program.

Lack time for a long workout? Three 10-minute spurts of exercise per day can be just as good as one 30-minute workout.

Remember: anything is better than nothing. Start off slowly with small amounts of physical activity each day. Then, as you start to lose weight and have more energy, youll find it easier to become more physically active.

Find exercise you enjoy. Try walking with a friend, dancing, hiking, cycling, playing Frisbee with a dog, enjoying a pickup game of basketball, or playing activity-based video games with your kids.

Few things are more discouraging to someone on a weight-loss plan than the oft-cited statistic that 95% of people who lose weight will regain it within a few years. The difficulty in sticking with a long-term weight-maintenance plan is one of the main reasons that weight-loss programs fail. To uncover clues to successful weight loss, researchers have been collecting information on people who have lost weight and successfully kept it off for many years. This project, known as the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), records what these people did to achieve their goals.

Below are six strategies gleaned from NWCR participants who have kept off at least 30 pounds for at least one year:

This 5-day sample meal plan for weight loss is all about eating more, not less.

You learn about lots of healthy, filling meals and snacks that can help you not only weigh less but also feel your very best.

This healthy meal plan for weight loss includes all kinds of satisfying, hunger-curbing foods like mustard-coated salmon, sweet potatoes, and hearty Italian-style soups.

By switching from a bowl of cold, dried cereal to one of hot whole-grain cereal and fruit, youd take in approximately 100 fewer calories each day. That one simple change to your daily diet could help you drop about 10 pounds in one year. Plus, hot cereal has more staying power. It tends to fill you up better and longer than dried cereal.

If desired, add a little nonfat milk or soymilk and a packet of sugar substitute (a good choice is Splenda).

And always keep in mind that no oil, even so-called good ones, should be considered a weight-loss food. Coating your salad with oil can tally up as many calories as a scoop of premium ice cream.

Make your own. Its easy! From one 14-ounce can of no-salt-added cannelini beans, spoon out 2 tablespoons of beans. Puree the rest. In a medium nonstick pot, saut 5 cloves of chopped garlic until translucent. Add 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth and 1 head of escarole, chopped, or a package of frozen chopped spinach. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Add pureed beans, red pepper flakes and black pepper, to taste, and cook 1 minute longer. Garnish with the beans you spooned out plus, if you desire, a little chopped red bell pepper. Refrigerate or freeze what you dont eat for easy soup prep for a future lunch or dinner.

Especially popular among our guests at the Pritikin Longevity Center are Greek-style yogurts such as Oikos and Fage. So rich and creamy tasting! If you need a little sweetness to cut the tart flavor, simply add diced banana, or stir in 1 packet of Splenda

A gigantic Farmers Market-style salad with a variety of fresh seasonal produce and fresh herbs, such as fresh baby arugula and radicchio, and red wine vinegar sassed up with a little horseradish. Enjoy visiting your local Farmers Market every week and asking the vendors, Whats new and tasty this week? What would make great ingredients for my salad?

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When dining out and ordering fish, request that your fish not be salted or basted in calorie-dense ingredients like olive oil and butter. Healthier cooking options include steaming, broiling, or grilling.

Contrary to popular belief, potatoes are a great food for helping you lose weight. Its what we put on top of our potatoes butter, cheese, and bacon bits that turn them into waistline-busting foods.

Egg white omelet stuffed with 1 cup of assorted grilled vegetables, such as onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and broccoli, and a dollop of nonfat ricotta cheese.

Yes! Cocoa can be part of a healthy meal plan for weight loss! For cocoa: Mix nonfat milk or soymilk, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, and 1 packet of sugar substitute, such as Splenda (if desired).

Like vegetables, fruits are fabulous weight-loss foods because theyre big foods, that is, foods that are bulked up by lots of fiber and water. With big foods, youll be eating a lot of food (which will satisfy your hunger) but not a lot of calories.

Heres a great example: For the same number of calories that are in a handful of peanuts (about two ounces), you can eat 2 pounds of strawberries (about five of those green boxes that strawberries come in.) Eating big foods like strawberries, salads, and other fruits and vegetables can prevent hunger from taking over and taking you places you dont want to go

Did you know that bread and rolls are the No. 1 source of salt in the American diet, accounting for more than twice as much sodium as salty junk food like potato chips? Thats why its so important to look for low-sodium varieties of bread (a good brand is Food for Life).

Keep stocked in your refrigerator or freezer a box of veggie burgers (look for low-sodium varieties). Veggie burgers are a much better choice for your waistline and heart than ground meat. Veggie patties have only about half the calories of regular red meat patties, and zero heart-hurting saturated fat. Plus, theyre so easy to cook just one or two minutes in the microwave. While toasting your whole-wheat bun, take from your pantry a jar of roasted red bell peppers and top your veggie patty with a couple of luscious slices. Smear your bun with a little low-sodium Dijon mustard.

1 or more cups (its hard to go overboard on fresh veggies!) of steamed fresh vegetables, such as asparagus, broccoli, and/or cauliflower, with lemon juice and sauted garlic.

Hot whole-grain cereal, such as oatmeal, cracked wheat, barley or polenta, made with 1 cup nonfat milk or soymilk and 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries.

There are many great choices of whole-grain hot cereals; just make sure you buy one with no added sugar or salt.

If desired, add a little nonfat milk or soymilk and 1 packet of sugar substitute (a good choice is Splenda).

Look for fat-free low-sodium varieties, or make your own.

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Did you know that four ears of corn has the same number of calories as one medium serving of French fries? (The corn tastes better, too.)

A big salad of baby spinach and other fresh veggies, such as sliced carrots and tomatoes, topped with your favorite canned no-salt-added beans. Toss salad with about teaspoon of wasabi (to taste) and 3 to 4 tablespoons of rice vinegar.

Look for no-salt-added varieties of canned beans since rinsing the beans through a colander removes only 30% of the added sodium.

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Give your brown rice a nice savory spin by adding freshly minced garlic. At the last minute, add in fresh herbs like thyme and Italian parsley and just about any vegetable you have on hand, like chopped cucumbers, celery, onions, and tomatoes.

While there are probably plenty of pre-made bean and veggie soup options that just need a few minutes to heat through on the stovetop, making your own soup is really easyand a great idea for your health. Homemade soups are much lower in sodium about 100 milligrams or less per 2-cup serving. By contrast, 2 cups of many canned soups contain a blood-pressure-busting 1,200 milligrams or more, a worrisome amount considering that health experts recommend consuming no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium for the entire day. This is also a great way to use up all those leftover vegetables in your crisperpretty much anything works in this soup.

Directions:Put into a soup pot 1 can of no-salt-added red beans (drained), 4 cups low-sodium vegetable juice like Knudsens Very Veggie Low-Sodium Juice, 2 to 3 teaspoons oregano or Italian-style seasoning, and 2 cups of any veggies you already have sitting in the refrigerator bin, such as carrots, celery, and onions. Rough-chop the vegetables into bite-size pieces and bring to a boil, simmering until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. If desired, top with a tablespoon of fat-free sour cream.

Enjoy the rich flavor of sweet potatoes? While home on Sundays, cook up a batch. Wrap each one in foil and bake for about an hour at 425 degrees F, or until their luscious, sweet juices start to ooze out into the foil. At work the following week, just pop one in the microwave for a quick warm-up. Theyre loaded with taste, so they dont need any extra toppings. If you want a little zest, swirl in a teaspoon or two of no-salt-added Dijon mustard or a quarter cup of plain nonfat Greek yogurt.

A big salad with a variety of lettuces, plus tomatoes, cucumber, and any other veggies you have in the fridge, including varieties youve never thought of adding to salads but actually taste delicious, like sliced fennel.

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Ah, quinoa. This healthy, rich-tasting whole grain/seed has so many nutritional riches that it puts refined grains like white rice to shame. Tofu is the perfect sidekick because its both waistline-friendly (per bite, tofu tends to have about one-third the calories of meat and poultry) and heart-friendly (tofu has no artery-damaging saturated fat or cholesterol).

Directions: Rinse 1 cup of quinoa in cold water. In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa with 1 tablespoon curry powder and 1 teaspoon turmeric. Add 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until the water is absorbedabout 15 minutes. Stir in 1 cup shredded carrots and 1 cup cubed firm tofu. Makes about 4 one-cup servings. Refrigerate remaining servings for an easy, healthy snack or meal later in the week.

Think oatmeal is boring? You havent tried Chef Anthonys sweet/ tangy Oatmeal Supreme, always a favorite among guests at Pritikin. Its a great meal for losing weight, and starting your day.

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If desired, add a little nonfat milk or soymilk and 1 packet of sugar substitute (a good choice is Splenda).

Open up a big bag of baby carrots and dip them into your freshly made no-oil-added, no-salt-added hummus. Simply whip up in your food processor a can of no-salt-added chickpeas/garbanzo beans, fresh tomatoes, lemon juice, garlic, a jalapeno pepper (if you like your hummus hot and spicy), and fresh herbs like cilantro and dill. Add a little water, if necessary, until the desired consistency is achieved.

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Butter beans are as delicious as they sound: big, meaty and filling, with a mild flavor that works well with bright, assertive flavors like lemon and scallions.

Cooking up soba (the Japanese word for buckwheat) noodles instead of white-flour noodles is a great way to cut calories. A cup of soba has just 113 calories; a cup of white pasta, about 200. Plus, soba noodles are full of fiber, protein, and B vitamins.

Combine in large bowl:2 large cucumbers, peeled, seeds removed, and sliced tablespoon paprikaPinch cayenne pepperPinch black peppercorns, freshly ground cup fresh lemon juiceLet cucumber mixture sit for a few minutes while you cook 8 ounces of soba noodles according to package directions. After cooking and draining sobas, toss in bowl with cucumber mixture and gently blend.

Pour a 6-ounce bag of pre-washed baby spinach in a hot wok sizzling with a small amount of water or white wine, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and minced garlic. Stir spinach till wilted.

Eugenia Killoran has been the food and fitness journalist for the Pritikin Program since 1992. She has published more than 3,000 articles, lectures, and book chapters on a wide variety of healthy living and weight-loss topics.

You need a new approach for weight loss after 40. Instead of quick fixes that dont work, here are seven steps to take to develop healthy habits and combat weight gain.

Its no secret that losing weight after 40 can be difficult for some women. As you age, you begin to lose muscle mass, causing your metabolism to slow down. Add to the slow metabolism a dose of wildly fluctuating hormones and you have the perfect recipe for weight gain. Weight gain after 40 no longer translates into only a tight-fitting pair of pants. You are now at increased risks for a wide range of diseases, including depression, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

If you are trying the same tricks and tips you used in your 20s and 30s, you will find they no longer work. Cutting back on dessert and spending an extra hour in the gym would result in a five pound weight loss. It seemed effortless, but why dont those tricks work for you after forty? Your body doesnt respond the same way it did as in your 20s.

Here are seven steps required to successfully lose weight after age 40.

Why it works: As you age, you begin to lose muscle mass. Your metabolism, the rate you burn calories, is tied directly to muscle mass. A pound of muscle, at rest, burns about six calories per hour.

Compared to the measly two calories a pound that fat burns, you can see why retaining as much muscle mass as possible is vital in losing weight.

Furthermore, lifting weights has the extra benefit of helping women maintain bone density during menopause.One of the best ways to increase your muscle mass is to lift weights. Dont worry. Lifting weights will not give you a big, bulky look.

Instead, your muscles will tighten and you will achieve a slimmer appearance. Also, dont be afraid to lift heavier weights. You do not need to stick with the little pink dumbbells.

How to do it: Lift weights three to four times per week. Alternate the targeted muscle groups. For example, if you lift weights for your arms, shoulders, and upper body on Monday, dedicated Wednesdays weight lifting session to legs and lower body work.

Dont overlook the convenience of body weight exercises. Squats and lunges can be performed in your own living room without any special equipment. Push-ups and pull-ups are also good alternatives to weight rooms and gym apparatus.

Why it works: It should come as no surprise that processed foods are generally higher in calories, unhealthy fats, sodium, and sugar than whole foods.

Eliminating processed foods can have one of the largest impacts on your weight. Skip the fad diets and simply eat whole foods.

Whole foods are foods that have not been overly processed or have added additives or artificial ingredients. For example, skip the breaded, frozen chicken nuggets and opt for a simple grilled chicken breast.

Typically, foods full of sugars and starches are often processed. Skip the sodas and sugary drinks and stick to water. You dont need to shy away from dairy.

In fact, current research is showing that higher levels of dairy intake help prevent weight gain in middle-aged women.

How to do it: Instead of thinking about cutting out foods, change your mindset so you are thinking about adding healthier foods into your diet.

You may find that your cravings for carbohydrates and sugary foods wane as you opt for healthier alternatives. When you do make changes to your diet, do so gradually and in small increments.

Remember, you are working on developing a lifelong habit of healthier food choices, not jumping on the next bandwagon diet.

Related:10 Foods You Should Avoid Like The Plague

Why it works: Portion sizes have greatly increased, and in some cases, it has doubled and even tripled! As portion sizes increase, so do waistlines.

However, as you age, you actually need fewer calories. As creatures of habit, you tend to eat the same foods in the same amount. An extra 100 calories per day can translate into a ten-pound weight gain over the course of the year.

How to do it: One of the easiest ways to limit your portion sizes at home is to use smaller dinner plates. Just like the growing portion sizes, dinner plates have grown.

Utilizing the smaller luncheon plate gives you a more accurate estimate of proper portion size.

When eating out, split your meal, order from the childrens menu, or even pack half of your entree to-go and save it for another meal.

Consider using one of the popular food tracking apps to keep a food diary. They make keeping track of calories easy and can provide more in-depth information such as your highest caloric foods, what time you tend to eat the most, and other useful data.

Slow down your eating. Take your time chewing your food. Sit around the table with family and friends and enjoy a leisurely meal.

This will give your stomach more time to let your brain know when it is full. Also, avoiding the TV during meal times will help you consume less food.

Why it works: Its a common misconception that you have to be engaged in a high impact activity to get aerobic benefits. As a matter of fact, walking is one of the best exercises for you.

Its low impact so it is easy on the joints and it engages the major muscle groups in your body. Too much sitting is bad for you and contributes to weight gain.

A good way to counteract all that sitting is by walking. Walking after your meals also aids in weight loss and helps control blood glucose levels. Furthermore, walking can help alleviate, or at least ease, body aches and pains.

In particular for middle-aged women, walking is associated with less weight gain and even mitigates the effects of aging.

How to do it: You already know how to walk, so this becomes a case of how to fit more walking into your already busy day.

Start with the obvious and easiest tips: park farther away, take the stairs, take the dog out for an extra walk.

Research is beginning to show that using an activity trackers combined with an online social network can increase activity and enhance weight loss.

Popular fitness tracking devices, like Fitbit, allow for competition among your friends to see who can take the most amount of steps per day.

Why it works: For a myriad of reasons, you are not getting all the nutrients you need out of your food. Perhaps your diet isnt as healthy as you would like.

Maybe nutrients were lost during the ripening and delivery process. For whatever reason, supplementing your diet with vitamins can be a boost to your weight loss.

Solid research is coming out that is very convincing of the need to supplement with a vitamin regime. Omega 3 fatty acids such as those found in fish oils are shown to have significant health benefits, including those associated with heart disease.

As women age, the need for calcium is actually increased to help prevent osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. This is also good news for women looking to lose weight.

How to do it: Vitamin supplements may include a general daily multi-vitamin, high quality Omega 3 Fatty Acid, and Vitamin D3 with Calcium. Other options to consider include live culture probiotics and green tea supplements.

Omega 3 Fatty Acid capsules are available in most supermarkets and health food stores, and there is a good selection of Omega 3 Fatty Acid supplements on Amazon.

Why it works: You may not be woken up by crying babies any longer, but women over 40 may still not getting the sleep they need.

Sixty-one percent of menopausal women are afflicted with insomnia.Fluctuating hormones can interfere with sleep and even turn a morning person into a night owl.

These changes in the sleep patterns lead to fatigue and low energy levels. Low energy levels translate into decreased physical activity and cravings for high carbohydrate foods. Simply not getting enough sleep can cause weight gain and lower your overall quality of life.

How to do it: Create a comfortable environment for sleeping. Select soft lighting, eliminate TV and other electronic screens, and turn down the thermostat for a cool room.

Design a sleep schedule that works best for your lifestyle and stick to it. Going to bed and waking at the same time will help your body adjust to a natural sleep/wake cycle.

Eat more protein throughout your day. It may seem strange to list food among tips for getting more sleep, but studies show that increasing your protein intake make for a better nights sleep. Additionally, avoid caffeine and alcoholic beverages before bed.

Why it works: Individuals who are stressed lose less weight than non-stressed people. Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, is released during times of stress.

It regulates many of the bodys responses to stress, including blood sugar levels and metabolic rates. Too much cortisol makes it difficult to lose any weight. It is imperative that any attempts at weight loss include a stress management program.

How to do it: One of the best ways to manage stress is through exercise, particularly yoga. Yoga has been known to release mood-elevating chemicals within the body, and it is effective in promoting weight loss. Other options include meditation or tai chi.

Volunteer. Spending your time helping a worthy cause combats cortisol. You will feel better about yourself and have a sense of accomplishment.

Spend time in nature. Our brains seem to work better in nature. If you cant get out in nature, research suggests that merely listening to the sounds of nature can reduce stress and cortisol.

1. Yoga. Yoga and Pilates are fantastic for women looking to lose weight, and the benefits do not stop there. Ithas been found to improve circulation, strengthen core muscles and increase flexibility. Yoga is also very calming and is an effective stress reliever.

2.Coenzyme Q10 supplements and omega-3 supplements can help you shed pounds in a healthy manner.. Not only can they increase weight loss, they also support healthy heart and brain function.

If you want to try Coenzyme Q10, then there is a good selection on Amazon with tons of customer reviews.

3. Take Your Time.One of the biggest obstacles to weight loss is portion size. Oftentimes a person will keep eating long after they are full simply because they ate too fast for their body to communicate that fact. To combat this, try chewing slower, drinking water while you eat and engaging in conversation throughout the meal.

4. Early Morning Cardio.When you first wake up in the morning, your body has essentially been reset and has a calorie deficit. To take full advantage of the morning hours, try going for a jog before eating breakfast. Research indicates that cardio on an empty stomach capitalizes on the bodys fat burning capabilities.

5. Avoid Exercise Ruts.Aging causes the metabolic rate to drop, which often leads to weight gain. Switching up your exercise routine can give your metabolism the boost it needs. Changes to your workout will also help you avoid a weight loss plateau.

6. Bedtime Snack. Recent studies suggest that drinking a protein shake before going to bed could kick start your metabolism. This could be especially helpful for individuals over 40, as age causes a decreased metabolic rate.

7. Preparation is Key.One of the best ways to set yourself up to be successful in your weight loss journey is to be prepared with healthy snacks. Protein bars, almonds and fruit are all excellent snack options and will help curb cravings.

8. Jump In.Swimming is one of the best exercises out there, and it is also low impact. Itis a great option for anyone who cannot partake in conventional exercise due to knee pain, back pain etc. Swimming is a heart healthy exercise and helps build endurance while burning calories.

9. Eat More Fish.Fish is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, which are excellent for heart health and the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Fish is also an excellent source of protein. Women who do not get enough fish in their diet are encouraged to take a fish oil supplement.

10. Green Tea.Green tea is very popular for individuals trying to lose weight. Not only does it taste great, it also contains caffeine and antioxidants. Caffeine is a known fat-burning stimulant, and antioxidants such as EGCG increase metabolism.

11. Catch More Zs.Sleep is essential for weight loss. Lack of sleep can be detrimental to weight loss efforts, as sleep plays a vital role in appetite and hormone control. Those looking to lose weight should be mindful of how much sleep they need, and how much they get.

12. Eat Your Vegetables.Dont just eat your vegetables, try to eat them first. Vegetables are loaded with nutrients but contain very few calories. Filling up on vegetables will help you eat less high-calorie items on your plate.

13. Calcium.As you get older, it becomes more difficult for your bones to absorb calcium. A strong frame is essential for an active lifestyle. Low fat dairy products are ideal for those looking to slim down, as they have less calories but roughly the same amount of calcium.

14. Choose Your Calories.Be mindful of the calories you are consuming. Skip the bread basket when you are out to eat. Remember not to drink your calories. It doesnt matter how well you watch your diet if you are drinking tons of sugary drinks or alcohol.

Losing weight after forty isnt impossible, but it does take a more deliberate approach. Embrace the life experience and lessons you have learned to enhance your weight loss. Patience and persistence, both skills developed over a lifetime, turn these seven steps into healthy habits that will last your entire life.

So whats stopping you from losing weight ? Tell me your challenges in the comments.

A new study published in the medical journal The BMJ shows that low carbohydrate diets cause people to burn more calories as compared to medium and high carb diets.[1]

The study showed that those who eat low carb diets may burn an extra 230 or more calories per day.

The purpose of this study was to test the Carbohydrate-Insulin Model.

This model theorizes that the increase of the hormone insulin after eating carbohydrates predisposes the body to store body fat rather than using the nutrients for energy.

Many foods high in carbohydrates such as simple sugars are known to greatly increase insulin levels. The impact these foods have on insulin can be estimated using the glycemic index and glycemic loads.

Foods with a high glycemic load will increase insulin more compared to low glycemic load foods.

If you think a vegan diet automatically equals a healthy diet, think again!

True it can be packed with veggies, but if youve ever met the vegan with a Diet Coke in one hand and a chocolate brownie (sans the eggs and butter, of course) in the other, you know it can be a thoroughly unhealthy diet.

A vegan diet, by definition, excludes all animal products. No animal flesh. No milk from cows, goats, sheep or other mammals. No eggs. Not even honey. Whats left can vary tremendously from one vegan to the next.

Often people do choose to adhere to a vegan diet for health reasons, but others want to eat lower on the food chain out of respect for animals or to minimize their carbon footprint and help protect the environment.(1)

Thanks to the Seventh Day Adventists and the epidemiologists who studied them, we now have compelling evidence that a vegan diet can be healthier than one that includes meat and fish. Many Seventh Day Adventists follow their churchs doctrine that recommends a vegetarian diet. The researchers found that, compared to non-vegetarians, vegetarians (including vegans and lacto-ovovegetarians) were much less likely to get colon cancer or prostatecancer, or to die from cardiovascular disease or breast cancer.

Among men,lacto-ovo vegetarians (they eat dairy and eggs) were 15% less likely to die from any cause compared with non-vegetarians, and there seemed to be some added benefit to being vegan, as this group was 18% less likely to die from any cause versus the non-vegetarians.(2)

Other studies have looked at the gut microbiota (ie, the bacteria in our stool) in people with different diets and have found that the microbiome in those who eat meat differs from vegetarians, and further differs from that in vegans. Research indicates that the vegan gut has fewer inflammatory bacteria, and more species that protect against inflammation, obesity and type 2 diabetes.(3)

A number of smaller studies reveal additional benefits of the vegan diet, such as one where sedentary people on a raw vegan diet appear to be as heart healthy as the non-vegetarian endurance runners(4). Another research study found that a vegan diet along with support groups and lifestyle changes helped men with prostate cancer control the disease.(5)

But there is such variety in the vegan diets studied and associated interventions that it is hard to make generalizations.

There are strong theoretical reasons to think that there is value in consuming a vegan diet.

For example, the ratio of omega-6:omega-3 fatty acids is ideally no higher than 4:1, but a review article found that, on average, the ratio was 7.65:1 for grain-fed beef and 1.53:1 for grass-fed beef.(6) A study of chickens fed cereal-based feed also had lower omega-3 fatty acid levels compared with the birds given access to pasture.(7)

Diets high in animal protein have been associated with numerous chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and possibly osteoporosis, cancer and overall mortality.(8-12)

Ninety percent of human ingestion of dioxins occurs through animal food. These contaminants increase risk for cancer and developmental, immunologic, and endocrine toxicity.(13) Mercury, another toxin prevalent in our oceans, accumulates in many fish, and can be harmful to our nervous, digestive and immune systems, lungs and kidneys.(14)

One benefit of animal protein is that unlike plant-based protein, animal protein is a complete protein, meaning you get adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids your body cannot make on its own when you eat it.

Vegans have to work harder to consume adequate amounts of complete protein because plant-based proteins are almost all low in one to three essential amino acids. However, any combination of two types of vegan protein in a day (eg, legumes and seeds, or legumes and whole grains, or nuts and seeds, or whole grains and nuts) provides the necessary combination of essential amino acids.(15)

One pitfall to look out for is vegan protein powders. Most powders are not optimized with branch-chain amino acids, and therefore are not highly bioavailable and not a great source of protein. This is why Parsley Healths professional-grade pea-and-rice based Rebuild protein powder is superior to most powders it has been optimized with the addition of the amino acids like leucine required to make it a complete protein.

Another common argument for consuming animal products particularly dairy is calcium. However, on review of studies of dairy and bone strength, the totality of evidence does not point to dairy as necessary. Vegans can get plenty of calcium from their diet without supplements by consuming dark green vegetables and nuts or seeds daily.

Especially good foods are collard greens, kale, almonds and sunflower seeds. Not only that, but they dont need as much calcium as meat-eaters. Thats because animal flesh is acidic, forcing calcium stored in the body (eg, in bones) to be drawn into the bloodstream to buffer the acid.

There are a few nutrients that you do need to pay attention to if you want to try a vegan diet safely.

The first one is vitamin B12. Unless you are eating some really buggy lettuce (which one might argue would make you less than vegan), there is no way to get sufficient B12 as a vegan and it is important to take a supplement, such as our vegan Rebuild protein powder which contains a complete multivitamin.

Iron is also worth consideration, in particular for menstruating women. Although there are many plant-based sources of iron, it is harder for the body to absorb vegan-sources of iron than animal-based sources, so supplementation might be needed.

Next, Omega-3 fatty acids are abundant in certain plant-based foods, like flax, walnuts, chia and hemp seeds. However, our bodies are only able to convert small amounts of plant-based omega-3s into the most beneficial forms our bodies need DHA and EPA. Incomparison, it is much easier to absorb DHA and EPA directly from fish and pasture-raised eggs and meat.

Finally, there is almost no vitamin D in a vegan diet, and most of us (vegan or not) are Vitamin D deficient as we dont get a lot of sun exposure. The better supplemental form of vitamin D is D3, rather than D2. Though D3 frequently comes from animal sources (eg, lanolin from sheeps wool or fish oil) there is a plant-derived D3 from lichen.We recommend routine testing for all vegans and vegetarians to ensure they are getting adequate nutritional support.

On countless occasions I have identified B12, iron and Vitamin D deficiency in my vegan patients which we were easily able to correct with the right supplements, allowing them to safely stay with their vegan diet.

Diets impact more than our bodies, they can impact our mental health powerfully. For example, I had a 52-year-old patient who started a vegan diet high in veggies and without refined grains or sugar. As a result, her bipolar disorder was the best controlled it had ever been, allowing her to finally feel well, mentally and physically, on her medication.

I had another 62-year-old patient who had a cardiac stent placed for a clogged artery and chest pain. Despite the stent and no evidence of any more clogged vessels, the chest pain persisted, but a few months after he started a vegan diet, his chest pain resolved. Dean Ornish, MD, did pioneer work in this area, showing that a vegetarian diet (low-fat, no sugar in this study), along with exercise, stress management, and psychosocial support could successfully reduce angina symptoms and reverse the accumulation of plaque in peoples arteries.(16)

In her book, Radical Remission, Kelly Turner, PhD, wrote about people with cancer who used only alternative means to recover from cancer, and for some, this involved adhering to a plant-based diet high in vegetables and no sugar, meat, dairy and refined foods.(17)

People are unique in terms of what makes them feel well and their comfort with different dietary plans. If you are interested in seeing what effect a vegan diet has on you, do it with the guidance of someone who has experience finding vegan foods that are healthy, satisfying and filled with a sufficient variety of nutrients.

Notice how you feel after 3 weeks on it. Check immune markers such as your white blood cell count and high sensitivity c-reactive protein, as well as cholesterol, to see what impact it has on these markers for some people the positive effects are astounding.

The ideal vegan diet consists of whole foods, lots of vegetables, and nearly zero refined grains and sweets. If you want to try it, just be sure to plan ahead before making this transition, so you dont end up reaching for that vegan chocolate brownie instead of a handful of walnuts when youre hankering for a snack, and keep in mind which nutrients you might need to supplement.

If done this way it can potentially decrease your risk for chronic diseases, such as heart disease and some cancers.

Need to get started with a few delicious vegan recipes? Start your day off by making our Pumpkin Pie Smoothie,check out our Simple Plant-Powered Meals for lunch and dinner ideas or whip up a batch of ourPeanut Butter Energy Balls for the perfect snack!

The food that you eat can affect your bones. Learning about the foods that are rich in calcium, vitamin D and other nutrients that are important for your bone health and overall health will help you make healthier food choices every day. Use the chart below for examples of the different types of food you should be eating every day.

If you eat a well-balanced diet with plenty of dairy, fish, fruits and vegetables, you should get enough of the nutrients you need every day, but if youre not getting the recommended amount from food alone, you may need to complement your diet by taking multivitamins or supplements.

Leafy greens and other nutrient-rich foods are good for your bones.

Recent research has found that olive oil, soy beans, blueberries and foods rich in omega-3s, like fish oil and flaxseed oil may also have bone boosting benefits. While additional research is needed before the link between these foods and bone health can definitively be made, the many overall health benefits of these foods make them excellent choices to add to your diet. Studies have also shown that a moderate intake of certain alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages like wine, beer and tea may also be good for your bones. More research is also needed to better help us to better understand the relationship between these drinks and bone health.

While beans contain calcium, beans contain magnesium, fiber and other nutrients, they are also high in substances called phytates. Phytates interfere with your bodys ability to absorb the calcium that is contained in beans. You can reduce the phytate level by soaking beans in water for several hours and then cooking them in fresh water.

Its important to get enough, but not too much protein for bone health and overall health. Many older adults do not get enough protein in their diets and this may be harmful to bones. However, special high protein diets that contain multiple servings of meat and protein with each meal can also cause the body to lose calcium. You can make up for this loss by getting enough calcium for your bodys needs. For example dairy products, although high in protein, also contain calcium that is important for healthy bones.

Eating foods that have a lot of salt (sodium) causes your body to lose calcium and can lead to bone loss. Try to limit the amount of processed foods, canned foods and salt added to the foods you eat each day. To learn if a food is high in sodium, look at the Nutrition Facts label. if it lists 20% or more for the % Daily Value, it is high in sodium. Aim to get no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day.

Your body doesnt absorb calcium well from foods that are high in oxalates (oxalic acid) such as spinach. Other foods with oxalates are rhubarb, beet greens and certain beans. These foods contain other healthy nutrients, but they just shouldnt be counted as sources of calcium.

Like beans, wheat bran contains high levels of phytates which can prevent your body from absorbing calcium. However, unlike beans 100% wheat bran is the only food that appears to reduce the absorption of calcium in other foods eaten at the same time. For example, when you have milk and 100% wheat bran cereal together, your body can absorb some, but not all, of the calcium from the milk. The wheat bran in other foods like breads is much less concentrated and not likely to have a noticeable impact on calcium absorption. If you take calcium supplements, you may want to take them two or more hours before or after eating 100% wheat bran.

Drinking heavily can lead to bone loss. Limit alcohol to no more than 2 3 drinks per day.

Coffee, tea and soft drinks (sodas) contain caffeine, which may decrease calcium absorption and contribute to bone loss. Choose these drinks in moderation.

Drinking more than three cups of coffee every day may interfere with calcium absorption and cause bone loss.

Some studies suggest that colas, but not other soft drinks, are associated with bone loss. While more research will help us to better understand the link between soft drinks and bone health, here is what we know:

To learn more about other foods that may be good for your bones, visit PubMed.gov, an online service of the US National Library of Medicine, to find research studies on nutrition and bone health.